


Open the Door and Throw Away the Key

by Koltarmi



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, CS Secret Santa, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-24
Updated: 2014-12-24
Packaged: 2018-03-03 08:09:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2844089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Koltarmi/pseuds/Koltarmi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emma cursed herself for her shit luck and sank to the floor, the back of her head hitting the front door with a dull thud. </p>
<p>Or the time Emma gets locked out and meets her new neighbour.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Open the Door and Throw Away the Key

**Author's Note:**

> This is for zelia-shadow on tumblr, everyone should go check her blog cause it's awesome!

42, Emma counts.

It takes 42 steps to walk from one end of the white hallway of her apartment floor to the other. Emma cursed herself for her shit luck and sank to the floor, the back of her head hitting the front door with a dull thud.

The day had started on a bad note when she woke up late. Rushing to work, she said a quick goodbye to her roommate, Elsa. She nearly crashed her car on her way to work when some asshole decided they didn’t need to use their turn signals. To make matters worse, the dirtbag she had been tracking for the last month suddenly disappeared without a trace. By the end of the day, Emma was ready to crash on the couch and never get up, only to realize she forgot her keys on the same day Elsa was leaving town to visit her sister, Anna.

She called Elsa, hoping she kept a spare key somewhere. Thankfully, she did have one that she gave to their new neighbour that moved in two weeks ago.

“Elsa, do you even really know this guy?” she asked, concerned that her friend gave the keys to their apartment to someone she barely knew.

“Relax, Emma. I’ve known Killian for years. We’ve been friends since high school,” she reassured her. “He’s a really great guy. Trust me. I can’t believe I haven’t introduced you to him yet.”

Elsa promised to call Killian so she wouldn’t be stranded in the hallway for the rest of the night. That had been over an hour ago. She looked at the black screen of her phone that had died half an hour prior. Emma wondered if Building Management would evict her if she slept in the hallway. Just as she was considering using her jacket as a pillow, the elevator chimed and its doors opened.

“Emma Swan?” Her head shot up and she looked at the man that stood in front of her. 

Dressed in jeans and a leather jacket, he had a head of messy black hair and striking blue eyes. The mental image Emma had gleamed from the short conversation with her roommate did nothing to prepare her for the possibility that he was extremely attractive looking. Judging by the smirk on his face, he knew exactly how he looked.

The smug bastard.

“You are Emma Swan, correct? Or have I just made an awkward first impression to a complete stranger?”

“No, not at all. You’ve got the right person.” she said, standing up.

He smiled. “Killian Jones,” he introduced. “Elsa told me a lot about you. Well, as much as she could in the two minute long conversation we had. Apologies for being so late, traffic was absolute hell. Did you at least get the text I sent you?”

Emma held up her phone and shook her head, “Nope. Battery died.”

“Just sit tight, I’ll be back with a key in a second.” Killian turned on his heel and disappeared as he opened the door to apartment 7C with his own keys. He reappeared moments later, a white envelope in hand. Emma sighed with relief. “You’re a life saver."

Killian handed her the small metal key. When his hand lingers for a second, Emma thinks the shiver that runs through her is just her imagination. And if she happens to notice the tinge of pink on his cheeks and his finger scratch behind a flushed red ear, she says nothing of it.

Emma quickly opened the door to 7A with the spare key and returned it to Killian who placed it back into the envelope. She stepped through the doorway."Thanks. If you hadn't shown up, I'd probably be stranded in the hallway for the rest of the night."

"No need to thank me, lass. Just happy to help." The confident bravado that he exuded when they met minutes ago had disappeared. "Meeting you is just an added bonus. See you later, Swan."

Before Emma could say anything else, he was already halfway down the hallway.

\---------------------------------

The next few meetings they had mainly consisted of rushed greetings in the early mornings or the dead of night. Emma wondered what kind of job he had that required him to pull such odd hours. The next time she does see Killian for longer than 10 seconds, he’s lying on the ground eyes closed. When she first sees him, she panics.

Did he faint? Did he hit his head or pass out?

Her phone was out of her pocket and ready to dial 911 when she noticed the headphones he wore and the faint sound of him humming. Emma released the breath she was holding and nudged Killian’s side with her foot.

“Swan, to what do I owe the pleasure?” he asked, when he noticed his neighbour standing in front of him.

“What are you doing out in the hallway? Forgot your keys?”

Killian gave a sheepish grin as he sat up. “Not exactly,” he replied. “A good friend of mine, Will, crashes at my place because he’s too damn lazy to go to his own place that’s only block away, His girlfriend, Ana, has been studying overseas and decided to surprise him with a visit-“

A loud moan from behind the door cuts him off before he can say another word.

The blush and scratching of the ear reappears again. “And let’s just say they were very eager to catch up.” He groaned. “This is the last time I trust him with my spare key.”

Emma looked at Killian’s flustered face before bursting into laughter about the ridiculousness of the entire situation. “Oh my god, I can't believe you've been sexiled.”

He chuckled. “That’s certainly one way of putting it.”

“Would you like to come to visit our place? It’s a lot more comfortable than the floor,” she offered.

“Why Swan, I didn’t know you were so forward.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “Just hurry up. Unless, you rather stay out here.”

He scrambled to stand up and follow her. “How could I be so rude as to deny an invitation to your lovely home?”

\---------------------------------

“My saviour.” Killian said as Emma stepped out of the elevator. After the incident with Will, Killian had taken back his spare key and gave it to Emma, saying it was only fair that she have his key since he had hers. “Thank you for coming. I must have misplaced my keys.”

“No problem,” she replied.

“The least I can do is offer you a cup of coffee for rushing over here in this blasted cold weather.”

She instantly took note of how organized the room was when he opened the door. Emma would have never pegged him as a neat freak. She looked at the bookshelf where every book was organized by alphabetical order and not a single speck of dust resided on it. She noticed the various photographs on the bookshelf. One in a simple and sleek black frame caught her attention.

It was a picture of Killian when he was younger and a man who was the spitting image of him, but older-looking and taller. 

“That’s my older brother, Liam.” She turned around and noticed the grin on his face at the mention of him. “He’s a total pain in the ass, but he practically raised me. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without him.”

“What’s he like?” she asked, noting the amount of admiration he had for his brother.

He arched an eyebrow and that damn smirk was on his face again. “I always thought talking about family was second date material?”

“Second date? We haven’t even gone on a first one,” she pointed out. Killian had made his way from behind the kitchen counter to stand in front of her.

“That can easily be arranged. You already have my number and I yours.” he replied. “Would you like to go out on a date with?” His boldness was gone and replaced with an earnest invitation.

“Sounds great.” The smile on her face lasted the rest of the day.

\---------------------------------

(The date goes so well that at the end of the night they decide whether to go to her place or his only for them to realize that they both forgot their keys.)


End file.
